Criminal Love
by YaoiGoddessNekoJin
Summary: Episode Tag: Takes place at the end of 'Marooned'. Coldwave! Trigger Warning: Attempted Suicide
Sooo, I've been working on this for a week. Yeah, it's been slow goings. This is my first fic for this ship, so please be nice. ^_^

For the first time since he was a child, at the mercy of his father, Len felt tears rolling down his cheeks. He knew what he was supposed to do, what everyone thought he was doing, but could he really? Could he really bring himself to kill the only person, other than his sister, that he's let inside his walls? While he was contemplating what he was going to do, Mick was staring at him. It wasn't like Len to show so much emotion. Was the prospect of killing him, nothing more than his muscle, really that hard to come to terms with. Mick just watched Len, who's brow was furrowed in thought. He hadn't really meant his threat against Len. He had been protecting the man since he was a teen. There was no way he had it in him to take his life. Mick looked up from where his gaze had fallen to the ground when he heard Len's cold gun clatter to the ground.

"I know." Len said in response to Mick's earlier threat. He pulled a knife from the holster on his pants and held it in a firm grip. Mick was surprised. He was sure that, if Len was going to kill him, it was going to be with his cold gun. Just as he was about to smart off to the other man about the knife, Len raised it, whispering, before plunging it into his own chest.

"I love you."

For Mick, time seemed to slow as Len collapsed to the ground, blood already soaking through everything. He rushed over, pulling the dagger from Len's chest so that he could put pressure on the wound.

"You fucking idiot! What the hell?!" He screamed at the unconscious man. He ripped Len's shirt open to better access the wound. He ripped a strip from the shirt and pressed it against Len's chest. Picking the smaller man up, Mick began running in the direction of the drag marks in the dirt to find the ship. Once there, he rushed inside to the shock of the rest of the team. Nobody was looking at him, their eyes were on the man cradled to his chest. Sara stepped forward.

"What have you done?" she asked, an edge to her voice that promised bodily harm.

"Nothin'." Mick growled. "He did it to himself!"

"Regardless of how it happened, we need to get Mr. Snart to med bay _now._ " Rip cut in. Everyone rushed to the medical bay of the ship and Mick gently laid Len down on the bed and removed the tattered remains of his shirt, exposing the wound to Gideon's sensors. While the computer worked its magic, Mick stood, stationary next to Len's bedside, clutching the younger man's hand. He kept his eyes trained on the ragged rise and fall of his chest and the clammy pallor of the younger man's face. The others stood in the doorway, discussing amongst themselves about what to do with the two criminals. Mick didn't care what they did with him, as long as Len was alright. Their fight and his betrayal of the team all seemed so trivial in the wake of current events. He ignored them as long as he could, until Rip approached him. He growled low in his throat in warning. The other man cleared his throat.

"You may stay with him. We're going to activate the forcefield at the door, though. Just to be safe." Mick choked out a mirthless laugh.

"You're afraid of me, but you're going to lock me in a room with him?" he asked, nodding his head to Len. Rip's face turned sad, his voice soft.

"You won't hurt him." he said, eyes taking in Mick's hand clutching Len's. Mick eyed Rip for a moment before turning back to his partner. Taking that as his signal to leave, Rip walked to the door and, once on the other side, he activated the forcefield.

Once he was sure everyone was gone from the door, Mick brought a chair over to the bedside and sat, staring at Len's face. After a while, he noticed that Len's breathing had evened out. As if reading his mind, Gideon spoke up.

"Mr. Snart will survive his wound. I will alert the others." Knowing he had limited time alone with Len, Mick laid a hand alongside the other's face, running his thumb along Len's cheekbone. He jerked his hand away at the sound of footsteps in the corridor. The sounds stopped just outside med bay. He heard the forcefield power down as the rest of the team entered to check on Len. Mick kept his head down, but he could feel the heat of glares directed at him.

"What was his plan?" Sara wondered. "I mean, what? He was just going to off himself and leave Pyro here to kill the rest of us?"

"Watch it, Blondie!" Mick growled. Before the two could start bickering, Gideon spoke up.

"Mr. Snart instructed me to take off ten minutes after his departure. I'm sure he didn't intend for Mr. Rory to find his way back to the ship." That left everyone stunned. They were silent until Ray spoke up.

"He couldn't bring himself to kill Mick, so he tried to kill himself." he said, staring off into the distance before his gaze turned to Mick. "Did he say anything to you before he stabbed himself?" Mick stiffened, cursing the brat's intelligence.

"Like what?" he asked gruffly. The tone of his voice had Ray instantly turning back into the stuttering, awkward nerd he was most of the time. Mick smirked to himself. They all stood, silent, for a moment until they heard a groan come from the bed. Everyone turned their eyes to Len, who was fighting his way back to consciousness. He opened bleary eyes before gasping in pain, grabbing at his chest. Mick stood quickly and restrained Len to keep him from causing himself more harm. When the fog cleared from blue eyes, Len was left looking up at Mick.

"W-what?" he rasped. "Where are we?" Before Mick could speak, Rip cleared his throat.

"You're on the _Waverider._ Mr. Rory found his way back and Gideon patched you up. Speaking of- Gideon!"

"Yes, Captain?"

"How long is Mr. Snart to stay on medical leave?"

"I would recommend at least two weeks, Captain."

"Right. Two weeks it is. Mr. Rory, consider yourself on probation. If you cause any more trouble, I will personally drop you off in some insignificant time and place. You two have things to work out before you come back to the team." With that, Rip turned on his heel and left the room, halting any arguments that may have been coming his way. Once he was gone, Ray looked from the door to Mick.

"Well, I guess you're not a prisoner anymore." When the bigger man growled and made to get up again, Ray's eyes went wide and scurried from the room, followed by a smirking Kendra. Everyone else left after another moment, Sara hanging back to glare at the two of them.

"I know you care about him Snart, but one more misstep and I'll kill him before Rip gets the chance to relocate him." Len just blinked at her and waited for her to leave.

After everyone was gone, Len turned to Mick.

"Why did you bring me back? You _are_ the one that said only one of us would leave."

"Yeah, well, you can't just tell me shit like that and then try to kill yourself. That's not how it works."

"How _does_ it work?" Len asked, cutting his eyes at Mick. When no answer came, he turned his head and took in his friend. Mick looked conflicted. Like there was something he wanted, but he wasn't sure he should go after it. A look of resolve came over his face. He reached a hand out and cupped Len's cheek. Leaning forward, Mick brushed his rough lips over the soft ones of his partner. Len was in shock for a moment, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"Wh-" before he could continue, those lips descended on his again, this time with more feeling and passion. Len's arm came up and wrapped around Mick's neck as the kiss deepened. Both groaned in unison as they had to come up for air.

"How long?" Mick asked, voice ragged from lack of air.

"Since you saved me in juvie." he said simply. Mick's mind reeled. It was hard to believe that someone was in love with him, much less had been in love with him _that_ long. Although, it made sense. They both trusted each other like no one they knew, with the exception of Lisa, and they knew all there was to know about each other. Perhaps, in a world where they didn't choose the career path they had, they would have already been together. They were both stubborn, but, one thing they had in common was that, when they loved, they loved with all their might. They would have to work on their relationship, but now that they were together, nothing could come between them ever again.

I've also been thinking of starting a multi-chapter story for these two. Let me know if you would like to see one!


End file.
